The economic impact of the North Dakota University System and its students on the state has risen dramatically since inception of the Roundtable on Higher Education in 1999 and was estimated at $3.7 billion for Fiscal Year 2009, according to a report by North Dakota State University's Department of Agribusiness and Applied Economics.

Titled Economic Impact of the North Dakota University System in 2009, the report is similar to studies conducted for FY 1999, FY 2004, FY 2006 and FY 2008. Report authors F. Larry Leistritz, Dean A. Bangsund and Randall Coon use the North Dakota Input-Output Model to estimate economic impact.

The University System generates about $2.50 for every $1 of state investment, resulting in increased sales, revenue and employment. The Dec. 28, 2010, University System news release provides a summary of the 2009 report findings.

The economic impact of the North Dakota University System and its students on the state has risen dramatically over the past 12 years and now stands at an estimated $4.4 billion for Fiscal Year 2011, compared to $3.7 billion in FY 2009, according to the recent Economic Impact of the North Dakota University System report.